Origami Swan
Origami is a Japanese art which focuses on folding pieces of paper to create sculptures. With just a few folds, you can make almost anything you desire. One of the more popular objects to be made is a paper swan. Soon you can create your own flock of birds to present to friends.
Making sure you have the right size paper
Begin with a square of paper. Any size will work, but the bigger the piece of paper, the easier it will be to get the correct folds. If you have never attempted to make anything with origami, try using an 8-inch-by-8-inch piece of paper (it's easy to cut a standard sheet of paper to this size)
First Folds
Place your paper on the table so it looks like a diamond, and fold it in half. The outside corners of the diagonal should touch. Open the paper back up so there is a crease going down the center. Next, fold the outside corners into the center, forming right triangles that have one edge going along the center crease. The end result should look like a kite.
Building the point
Flip the kite over so your folds are on the bottom of the kite. Next, fold each half of the kite (each side of the center crease) into thirds, the inner fold folding upward and the outer fold folding down. Fold each side in this manner so the entire piece of paper becomes "thinner" by folding the paper onto itself. When completed, the piece of paper should go down to a sharp point.
Making the beak
Next, fold the paper up about 2/3 of the length away from the point so it is about an inch over the top. Once you have gotten here, fold just the point back down toward the bottom of the page. Fold the paper in half again (there should still be the center crease, and that is what you are folding on for this step) and hold onto the thinnest part (it should be opposite the point that you folded down).
Finished Swan
Once you are holding the thinnest part, gently pull the point so it stands up on its own. Set the completed swan down so the neck is standing up (i.e. the beak), and the center crease (wings and tail) is supporting the structure.
